Pahlaj Nihalani's week in a nutshell: Possible termination, two certifications, and a legal notice

There seems to be no escaping news about CBFC and Pahlaj Nihalani these days. The Censor Board Chairman, famous for his 'tough' stance, has a knack for finding himself in situations where either, something has outraged him, or he has outraged someone. But this week, he's outdone himself and grabbed the headlines almost every day.

Here's your roundup of what, where and why:

Pahlaj Nihalani might possibly be terminated:
While this is purely speculative, Nihalani might be asked to step down, citing reasons like Smriti Irani's new role as Minister for Information & Broadcasting. Potential replacements for Nihalani have also been looked into, with Prakash Jha, Chandraprakash Dwivedi and Madhur Bhandarkar at the top of these supposed lists. Till we wait for this to be confirmed, Nihalani has said that nothing of the sort has been communicated to him, and that he will stay in the role till he has been asked to leave.

Smoking and drinking not to be shown in films:
Nihalani isn't satisfied simply by disclaimers asking people not to consume alcohol or smoke. He now wants films not to feature these at all, especially at the hands of leading men, claiming "superstars who are followed by millions and who set an example in societal behaviour must not be shown drinking or smoking on screen unless the provocation for doing so is really strong..." in which case the film will automatically certify as A.

An NOC may be required to show cellphone numbers on-screen:
This is another unconfirmed piece of news, but according to DNA the CBFC now allegedly requires filmmakers to provide No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for phone numbers that they may refer to or show on screen.

Nihalani has issued a legal notice against the organisers of the IIFA awards:
After being referred to as a 'watchman' in a sketch by Riteish Deshmukh and Maneish Paul, Nihalani sued IIFA, claiming that he was projected 'inappropriately'. As part of his suit, Nihalani has demanded that IIFA apologises publicly on print and broadcast platforms and pledges never to repeat this. He also went on to claim that the awards show was entirely commercial, and lost its dignity and relevance a long time ago

Indu Sarkar and Jab Harry Met Sejal receive their certifications:
During the trailer launch of the film, Imtiaz Ali announced that Jab Harry Met Sejal has been certified U/A without any audio cuts, while Madhur Bhandarkar's Indu Sarkar has also been given the U/A certificate, with two cuts and one disclaimer.